International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS) | Volume V, Issue IV, April 2021 | ISSN 2454–6186

The Nexus Between Religion And Politics: A Christian Perspective

Lewis Bwalya Chilufya
Religious Studies Education, Kwame Nkrumah University

Abstract
When religion and politics are discussed, one wonders as to whether these two fields of human activity are mutually exclusive. Academically, these concepts are treated as independent of one another. In practical terms, the interplay between religion and politics is equally not always self-evident.
I have argued, through thematic analysis of literature, that religion and politics are grounded in the integral nature of the human person. Human life is a project or task to be accomplished. On the one hand, politics helps us to organise the conditions within which this task is performed, for good or worse. Religion, on the other hand, gives meaning to human activities in this pursuit, politics inclusively. This is because the human person has a natural end in whose to cause politics proper belongs. However, the human person also possesses a supernatural end to which religion substantially contributes. Religion thus elevates the human earthly strivings to a transcendent level.

Keywords: Religion, Politics, Human Person, Natural and Supernatural Ends

1.0 INTRODUCTION

When religion and politics are discussed, one wonders as to whether the two subjects are mutually exclusive or unconnected. Academically, these concepts are treated as independent and existent in their own individual rights. In the practical sense, their relations are equally vague. In Zambia, for instance, when church leaders have spoken out against the government concerning some matters of governance, political leaders have argued that issues of politics have to be left to those in politics (Nkomesha, 2021). The impression that such reactions create is that politics is unreligious and a reserve of those who assume political positions or those are actively involved in partisan politics. For all purposes and intents, the interplay between religion and politics is not always self-evident